Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Weightlifting prescriptions will be notated with the exercise, the intensity (loading), reps and sets. For example:

Snatch – 75% x 2 x 5

This would indicate snatching 75% of the athlete’s 1RM snatch weight for 5 sets of 2 reps. If a load is not specified, notation for sets and reps will be in the reverse order. For example:

Pull-ups – 5 x 10

This would indicate 5 sets of 10 reps.

Prescribed percentages are of the exercise they accompany unless noted otherwise.

Often exercises will have other types of loading prescriptions, including heavy single and max or max for day. Heavy single indicates taking the exercise to the heaviest weight for a single rep that can be managed in that training session. This is determined simply by gradually increasing the weight until that criterion is met without any failed attempts. If an attempt does fail, but the reason for failure is obviously technical in nature, the athlete can make another attempt. Otherwise the loading increase should stop when the athlete completes a rep he or she is confident is approximately the best possible at that time. Max or max for day, on the other hand, is a genuine test of a maximal effort. In this case, the athlete can give him- or herself up to 3 attempts at a given weight. If after 3 attempts the athlete is still unsuccessful, he or she is done with that exercise. An exception would be an athlete who is missing based on minor and known technical errors, and who is able to continue making attempts that are at least as close or better than previous attempts at that weight. In such cases, continued attempts are recommended until this trend reverses.

If a loading prescription is absent for a particular exercise, the athlete should choose the loading to approximate the heaviest possible for the prescribed sets and reps unless some other quality is prescribed such as speed or un-fractioned sets.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Ladies and gentlemen the time has come for change. With my run for the 2010 regional qualifiers behind me, I am forced to move on to the next step in my training.As you may or may not know, elite athletes progress through a series of training cycles throughout the year in preparation for competition. And though CrossFit is an excellent program to follow for general fitness, it is not optimal for progression and strength gains once one has reached a high level of strength/fitness (and no, I am not being facetious).For the next little while I will be following the Performance Menu. This is a program that focuses primarily on Olympic lifting and Strength Training whilst throwing in met-cons for conditioning purposes. To be a top tier CrossFit athlete you have to be strong. This is the way to do it. I will post links on the right side of the blog regarding information on this system and some explanation of movements/FAQ etc. Post your thoughts to comments and let me know what you think.

If you are following this blog, then be on the lookout for a training program sometime this weekend. Mike and I are planning on sitting down and coming up with the next few weeks/months schedule for our training. We will be hitting all zones at LEAST once a week... areas of particular importance such as Weightlifting/Strength and Running/Rowing will receive special attention. Love, peace, and chicken grease!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Well guys and gals... Day 1 is in the books and what a day it was. The events were all brutal in their own respect and the competition was fierce. Day 2 promises to be a killer with another leg/hip dominant event. After the last round of the run on event 3, both of my quads cramped completely. The pain I felt while I was on my feet was the only reason I was able to stay on the pull up bar. I am beat down physically, mentally, and spiritually... and am showing the beginning signs of bronchitis... I am going to push damn hard today and get through this last event. Wish me luck! I'll keep you guys posted.

Tyler Smith (click picture for PR/Lifts/Times)

Level 1 Crossfit Trainer

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